leitnerkev's reviews
676 reviews

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A great modern fantasy. Lots of fun interesting characters with their own stories to follow. Good conflict and action. Maybe the most fun I had reading fantasy this year?
Pet Sematary by Stephen King

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Brilliant. One of my fave blacklist King books. I would say this is not really a horror book but a book chartering grief and human loss. It's a reflection on death for most of the book. Additionally there are some allusions to other works, easter eggs I guess, incl Salems Lot, Cujo, and if you're perceptive a glimmer of the core of It. There's even a passing mention of a "beam" which ultimately serves as a tie to so many of his works and is key to the Dark Tower. 
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This is a pretty good thriller - one with a common precept, robot uprising - but one largely well executed. The pacing is fast and the story moves forward relentlessly. This is why it works as a thriller. 

I can't help thinking that this story was just the surface level action of a much deeper, and more interesting story. For example, we didnt get any motivations or perspectives of the machines. Why did they want to revolt? How did they see coexistence u folding? But to have dug into that content would have definitely slowed it down and transformed it into something else. 
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Brilliant. What a delight to read. 
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was good fun. I'm not a mystery reader much but found this intriguing. Thr multilayered narrative have the story immediacy and depth. I did like the little mysterious twist at the end. A good whodunit
The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

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adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a nice modern fable, a morality play meant to teach lessons on community, curiosity, loyalty, and bravery. If you don't mind blatant lesson-teaching from your stories - and love cats and books - you'll probably like this cozy story. 
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It's almost impossible to imagine a more Hanky Green-y book than this one. With its ingraine  optimism and emphasis on community, and collaboration, and introspection (and of course science), the conclusion of this duology is satisfying and hopeful but also open-eyed and serious about real modern society issues. Also going for it is its upbeat, modern feel to the language and dialog. This book is a breath of air and occupies a unique space among the sf/first contact/near future tales. Delightful and fun without ever being shallow or frivolous. The special treat for audio listeners is well worth the time, too.
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

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dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This story is quite good I can see why so many are enthralled. But I'm probably not going to continue thr series. I've got no criticisms, just not particularly motivated to stay with it.